azure
by nazzy and jerkez
Summary: And suddenly, the rain stopped falling on him. —DeiTema.


So. I always wondered what other plausible scenario could happen when Deidara fights our own prince charming and instead of killing himself (damn you kishimoto for killing off every awesome guy in the manga), he runs off and is found by someone…

Um. Don't flame. This is just my fantasy version of what _could_ have happened. D:

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_Shit._

He let out a seething hiss as he clutched his right arm, as it was bleeding frantically. Somehow he had managed to escape that oh so annoying brother of Itachi, and was now on the run to somewhere safe. With these wounds, if not treated he would possibly drop dead any minute now, or at least face unconsciousness. Deidara moaned and cursed the god damn weather, as tiny droplets of the rain continued to cascade over him and the gloomy forest.

The clouds in the stormy sky shifted with haste and soon the raindrops fell from the sky like they were in a hurry. The only positive thing about this was the blood started to vanish slowly from his clothing, increasing the chance of him making it to a village and finding a cheap inn to spend the night.

_Being more or less covered in blood would slightly decrease my hopes on making it there undetected and unnoticed_, Deidara thought dryly.

He stopped in his steps when he felt something.

Deidara gritted his teeth. A presence, and a strong one at that. He could tell by the aura that it was not the annoying mini-Itachi that he had just fled from since the presence didn't have a killing intent, but still… he was severely wounded and he was running out of time to make it to a village without fainting on the way. He was just about to take a step back when his right leg throbbed with unbearable pain, making Deidara bit back a groan. His body was on its way to give up on him. _Fuck. Not now. Not like this!_ Slowly falling to the ground, Deidara let go of his grip of his arm and started to inspect his leg in a hurry. It was not broken, he concluded, but there was internal damage.

_Well, that's just great. _Deidara resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Here he was, stuck in a god damn forest with no end and on the verge of death, completely alone with the exception of a lurking ninja. This was certainly not how he envisioned his end in life.

Deidara tried to rise again, but putting any pressure on the leg made him wince in pain. The rain continued to fall on him in silence, droplets running down his marred face until hitting the ground without a sound. He closed his eyes and stopped straining his leg, and started to lay down on the mudded ground with a large thud, ignoring the ache that crept up his body when hitting the earth. He moaned silently. This was it, the end of Deidara. There was still so many things he wanted from life._ Totally unfair for it to end like this_. _I haven't even killed Itachi yet. I can't die here. _He gritted his teeth. _I want to live. Mainly, so I can kill that son of a bitch._

"Is anyone there?"

Deidara's eyes flew open, his mouth slightly agape at the soft voice that echoed in the forest. It was weirdly light for shinobi, he concluded, tainted with hesitance… If it wasn't for his ability in feeling someone's presence, he would have sworn that the voice belonged to a commoner, someone from a village that was lost in the forest like him… but he felt it. The person was strong and had light feet, meaning that the person was trained in combat and when approaching an unknown individual, they would stay out of sight.

"Hello? I promise I won't hurt you… I could tell by the blood trail you left that you're wounded."

He bit his lip. And then there was that. He was completely oblivious by the fact that he had left an unintentional trail behind him, but then again, he was on deaths doorstep; he didn't waste time looking back when he could barely move forward. He let out a groan, as he pondered about his options. Let this mysterious person find him, and let his fate be decided by someone else. Or, stay here and hope he doesn't get found and somehow find a way to the nearest village. Much to his dismay, scenario number two didn't seem likely, since he could not move an inch. Deidara was too deep in thought to hear the footsteps approach him.

And suddenly, the rain stopped falling on him.

"Why didn't you say something when I shouted?"

Deidara blinked, looking up to find the source of the voice. First he could only make out the big, purple umbrella that was lodged over him and the person crouched next to him, but then he saw _her_. Her blonde locks were resting on her slender shoulders and her bangs, wet by the rainy wind, clung to her forehead and stopped by length below her eyes. Those piercing blue eyes was locked with his as she still waited for a response, one arm holding the umbrella and one outstretched to him, laying on his heaving chest. He guessed that the girl… woman? was around his age, and was quite tall, maybe a few inches shorter than him.

And she was beautiful. God damned beautiful.

_If I somehow died and this is heaven, she must be an angel. _Deidara opened his mouth slightly and raised his hand slowly, extending it towards her and silently caressed a blonde lock. _She can't be real…_

She gave him a sincere yet concerned smile. "Can you hear me?" Deidara nodded slowly, fighting the urge to close his eyes and drift off, but he wanted to see her. If she was the last thing he saw before his life came to an end, then he would be damned if he drifted off into unconsciousness before he would know her name. She trailed her hand down his torso and continued toward his right arm, silently touched his damaged shoulder. He winced slightly and clenched his fist, biting his lip in pain. She had a concerned look in his eyes, he noticed. "I'm sorry, you must be in pain. I'm going to help you stand up, ok?"

He nodded once again, and gripped the sun-kissed arm that was extended to him, putting all his strength into his legs and tried to ignore the pain, tried to ignore the fact that his whole body ached. The woman probably noticed this, as she pulled herself closer to him so he could lean on her, lending him her own strength. If he was more conscious he would probably make a remark about women and how they shouldn't be stronger than men because men are supposed to be the one protecting and helping women but he couldn't care, he wouldn't care because all he saw was those beautiful eyes and the feeling of her soft skin against his. He could make out her scent now that she was standing so close to him, and she smelled like sunshine on a cloudy day, like the first flower that musters up the strength to grow after winter. She reminded him of better days when life was easy, and with one shared look he felt safe, something he hasn't felt in a long time.

He could make out her voice again, but she wasn't talking to him. Her face was turned to her left, and Deidara couldn't see but he knew that she was accompanied with several other ninjas, because he felt them before he could see them. When someone grabs him from behind to hold him steady, he moans because his god damned arm is throbbing like crazy and he feels the darkness trying to take over, but he won't let it. Not now. Not ever.

The rain continues to cascade down from the sky, and Deidara thinks that it feels good. He isn't freezing like he did before, before she found him. He feels rather warm. He can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing, he can't remember which is which. He feels another pair of hands touching him and there are several voices behind him or in front of him, they are everywhere and he couldn't care less. He is placed on a mattress of sorts, because suddenly the ground is soft and his left hand can make out the dampened linen beneath him. He then feels a warm and petite hand on his temple, and he looks up and is greeted by those eyes again. She says something to him, he can't hear it but he sees her mouth moving, those perfectly kissable lips apart and she smiles at him and he feels himself smile back.

He is suddenly filled with the need of hearing her name, he needs to hear it before he closes his eyes and he feels really sleepy but he needs to hear it. So he asks her with his hand entwined with hers, what her name is, and he is drifting away, he can see the darkness coming closer from behind his eyelids and he see her smile and finally hear her voice again.

"Temari. My name is Temari."

He nods, his eyelids falling shut faster than he could utter a thank you, and welcomes the vast darkness.

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"_He wasn't wearing a forehead-protector, so we have no clue where he comes from. His wounds were death-threatening at the least! By the looks of it, he must have been in a fight just before Temari-san found him…"_

"_Tortured, maybe? Look at the scars on his body. I'm having a hard time finding a limb that isn't marred…"_

Deidara blinked slowly before he could open his eyes completely. _Where… am i? _He winced as he tried to move his body, but to no avail, it wouldn't listen to his commands no matter how hard he tried. He could hear the voices but he couldn't muster the strength to turn his head.

"_I'll talk to him. Now that we healed him, maybe we can ask him these questions that we all have. You're all dismissed."_

That voice. He recognized it.

…_weirdly light… tainted with hesitance…_

And suddenly he found himself face to face with his rescuer. "Hi there. Feeling better, mr survivor-san?"

Deidara bit back a grin at the nickname, but decided not to drop his opinion about it. He forced himself to smile despite the pain, and nodded towards her. "Loads. Thank you… for saving me out there…" He drawled mentally, thanking someone, especially a woman for saving his ass wasn't something he did often, so when the words rolled of the tip of his tongue, they tasted bitter with just a hint of forced. But he was truly grateful, although he tried not to show it just that much. He still had his pride, after all.

She gave him one of her smiles again and softly touched his arm, inspecting the bandage-covered limb and turned towards him. "My pleasure. Does this hurt, when I touch you here?" Deidara blinked a few times until he shook his head, as he realized that he felt fine. They must have healed him up pretty good, since he didn't feel a thing. His body as a whole still ached but his damaged arm was but a memory.

"Great!" She lit up like the warm sun on a summer day, and he tried to keep his composure. He let his gaze wander downwards, noticing her onyx dress that was quiet large but clung to her hips and hung loosely around her slender neck, with her sun-kissed hair tied up in loose braid that feel down her right shoulder. Although the dress was considered a loose fit, it certainly did not hide the shape of her waist or her curvy frame.

Deidara drooled. Mentally.

His thoughts were interrupted by her soft voice and her hand silently patting his. "Well, for the moment you're fine, but if you feel dizzy or you get cramps, anything at all… you should tell us. We'll be in the room next door." She gestured towards the bleak door located at the left end of the room. "I'll go get you something to eat. You must be starving!"

Deidara nodded, and turned his head towards the open window that was on the wall right in front of his bed. Through the dusty glass he tried to make out the landscape, but his eyes fought against him and he had a hard time concentrating and no matter how much he squinted, his vision continued to stay blurry and without focus.

"Um, just one thing…" Deidara raised his voice so she would hear him, and she stopped in her tracks, turning around to meet his gaze.

"Yes?"

"Well… I was just wondering… where exactly are we?"

Temari smiled and walked up to the window, grabbing the thick glass and opened up as far it could go and let the room bask in the much needed sunlight. "We're in a small village, located just past the borders of Iwagakure."

Deidara's heart dropped like a stone in his chest.

_You got to be shitting me._

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Um. Yay? Nay? Thoughts, thank you!

Signing off,

_jerkez_


End file.
